This week marks the 12th anniversary of the terrible events that took place on the morning of 11 Sept. 2001 in the United States … and the 40th anniversary of the terrible events of 11 Sept. 1973 in Chile (see the image below, depicting the moment when Chile’s Presidential Palace was bombed). The Republic of Chile has since become a prosperous constitutional democracy. What has the US government accomplished in the 12 years since 9/11?

prior probability is also reblogging this thought-provoking post by Robin Hanson at Overcoming Bias:

<< In the decade since 9/11 over half a billion people have died worldwide. A great many choices could have delayed such deaths, including personal choices to smoke less or exercise more, and collective choices like allowing more immigration * * * Yet, to show solidarity with these three thousand victims, we have pissed away three trillion dollars ($1 billion per victim), and trashed long-standing legal principles. And now we’ll waste a day remembering them, instead of thinking seriously about how to save billions of others. I would rather we just forgot 9/11 * * * >>

Is Hanson right? Shouldn’t we just forget 9/11, just like we have forgotten Pearl Harbor (1941) or the Boston Massacre (1770)? Are we being self-righteous (and defeatist), in addition to committing the fallacy of ignoring sunk costs, when we memorialize the events of 9/11?

5 Responses to Forget 9/11?

We definitely need to forget. Why do we keep getting ourselves worked up year after year? Oh an now people are trying to capitalize with products like 9/11 commemorative wine. What? Thousands get killed every day in different parts of the world. Build a bridge and get over it. Stop wallowing America

It would seem like a logical decision to forget 9/11. Allegedly America memorializes the day to remember those that were killed during the attacks. Shouldn’t this be left to the individual families who lost loved ones? Shouldn’t America move on to show its strength rather than giving the terrorists credit for causing such destruction year after year? The amount of attention that is paid to 9/11 almost serves to celebrate it and that is the last thing we should be doing.

It is important to remember such events as the 9/11 attack. The event is a large moment in the history of our country. Families of the victims remember their loved ones everyday and the anniversary is a milestone in their lives. However, many people (and companies) take their remembrance to an irrational level. It is so trivial and inappropriate that companies are trying to make money of the pain of others by selling commemorative items. Why would I ever want to drink commemorative 9/11 wine?? 9/11 is a part of our history and should not be used as a marketing ploy.